


Just Be With Me

by noodlerdoodler



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-19 01:26:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4727567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noodlerdoodler/pseuds/noodlerdoodler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which, Will has the weirdest (and cutest) roommate in possibly the entire world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Be With Me

**Author's Note:**

> Because I needed a break from Davekatweek. 
> 
> It's just cute nerds being cute nerds, enjoy.
> 
> (Also, thank you to all the nice people that enjoy my fics. I love you people more than you understand!)

On the first day, it's kinda hard to know what to expect.

Nobody seems to know where to go and yet, everybody seems to be heading somewhere. Nobody claims to know what they're doing but everybody seems to be busy. Nobody says they've made any friends, so why does everybody seem to be rushing around in groups? Well, everybody except a certain Will Solace.

No, he had no idea what to expect on his first day of college but he was definitely not expecting to have a permanently absent roommate.

When he got to the dorm room he was supposed to share- after hours of being talked through what would not and not be tolerated on campus, as if he was planning to get kicked out- it was empty and untouched. Almost grateful, he took the bed that looked the most comfortable and tossed his suitcase on it. And he got to work unpacking his belongings, enjoying the tranquility of the room after the bustle and the hustle of... Well, everywhere else. 

As he stacked his books on one of the desks- again, he'd quickly claimed the best one- wondered what his roommate would be like. With a name like Nico di Angelo, he's picturing him as tall and tanned and muscled. Tousled dark hair. Somebody with movie star looks. Somebody gorgeous. He positively drools at the thought of his imaginary roommate. 

As he tacked his photos of him and his brothers up above the bed, he wondered when his roommate was going to get here. It was late, must be nearing dinner, and they were supposed to arrive around noon. Maybe his roommate lived far away and was just running late. 

As he finished unpacking and headed for dinner, he wondered if his roommate had been hit by a bus or something because everybody else's seemed to have arrived. He knows because he spent dinner with one guy he recognised from the induction day as Percy- and his friends. They all had their roommates. They seem nice enough but he knows that this was only a first day kind of deal. He'd have to find some friends of his own and fast. 

When he gets back from dinner, the room still appears undisturbed with no signs of other life forms (hot or otherwise). But when Will looked closer, he noticed that there was a black suitcase propped up against the wall in the left corner of the room by the other bed. Nico already seems to have come and gone and Will had missed his chance to introduce himself. This makes his heart sink, making him feel like a terrible roommate. 

He supposes that Nico must have his reasons for missing him- if it was intentional. Maybe he has things to do or maybe he's nervous about meeting Will on the first day. Yeah, that must be it. Will puts it down to first day nerves and thinks little of it when Nico doesn't make a single appearance; even if it is a little bit weird. Who doesn't show up for their first day of college? 

But, as it turns out, this isn't just first night nerves because he doesn't see anything of his roommate for the first few weeks. Not a hide, not a hair. He still doesn't even know what he looks like. He might as well have a room to himself. It's a little bit lonely to glance over and see the empty bed across the room. It makes Will wonder if he did something wrong and upset his roommate, something to make Nico ignore him.

He decides that Nico must come in very late at night, (or very early in the morning), because Will never sees him come in. He never sees him during the day. When the morning comes, however, Nico's bedsheets are always badly crumpled and looking a mess. His pillows are often strewn across the room. Will doesn't understand how anybody can make such a mess of their bed over night, just sleeping. 

At first, Will tries to resist his inner mom telling him that he should straighten out his roommate's bed. After all, he doubts that Nico would like him touching any of his belongings. But, after a few days, the mess of the bed in the corner of his eye becomes too much and he crumbles. Before he can convince himself otherwise, he's fixing the sheets and putting the pillows back in place. 

The only thing that he doesn't dare touch is the black suitcase- which now lies permanently open with the contents spilling onto the floor. All of Nico's clothes seem to be in dark colours; blacks, browns, dark blue, dark green. It's a major contrast to Will's bright wardrobe and makes him wonder what kind of roommate he really has. One that wears black nail polish, it seems.

Soon enough, he adjusts to making Nico's bed every day alongside his own and reasons that the guy just must not notice he's doing it. He doesn't mind; he doesn't want any praising for it. But, whilst he doesn't get any praise, he is suddenly rewarded by hot cups of coffee appearing on his bedside table in the morning. It's pleasantly surprising to wake up to, at first, but then he starts to worry that he should do something in return. 

So, in the evenings, Will begins to head out to buy coffee for his roommate. And he puts it on his desk before heading to bed, hoping that Nico will be glad of it. Every morning, when he gets up, he shuffles over to the desk to see if the coffee's gone. More often than not, the cup is empty. Sometimes, it is full and looks untouched. 

It takes him a few weeks of observing for it to click that Nico only likes certain coffees. He doesn't seem to like anything too fancy with too many sweet things. Anything like that and he won't drink any of it. One morning, Will realises that his roommate likes his coffee black and that's the day that Nico started draining the cup every single day without fail. 

Nico seems to take a while to make another move but soon enough, Will starts finding fresh cooked breakfasts spread out on his desk. Full cooked breakfasts, the kind that his Mom never had time to make for him back home. They're gorgeous as well and he suspects that they are, in fact, home cooked. Huh. He learns more and more about his roommate each day. 

Before Will can think of any way to top Nico's breakfasts, (how can he top freshly cooked pancakes when he can barely cook instant noodles?), he actually meets his roommate for the very first time. He briefly sees him, actually, and they don't talk.

It's one morning that he wakes up earlier than usual, finding himself hot and irritated post-nightmare. Sometimes, he has nightmares but he can never remember them afterwards. He's sweating, so he crawls out of bed and heads for the door- intending to get some fresh air in the early morning. That's when he sees him. Curled up with his arms wrapped around himself defensively, lying on the floor, is Nico di Angelo. 

He's not anything like Will imagined. He's actually quite small and scrawny and- when he's curled in on himself like that- surprisingly vulnerable looking. He's olive-skinned and dark-haired like Will suspected but his skin looks rather sick-like pale somehow and his hair is a mess of brown curls. Aside from the faint rising and falling of his chest, he looks dead. Though, it might just be the smeared eyeliner around his eyes giving him that impression. Nico di Angelo wears a lot of eyeliner.

Will just lays a blanket over him, before heading for the door, and when he gets back, Nico's gone again. The blanket has been folded on Will's bed. 

For weeks after, all he can think about when he's drinking his coffee or cutting his bacon into pieces is that scrawny boy he saw laying on the floor. The boy that makes him breakfast. He finds himself asking around about Nico after that and learns that his roommate is from Los Angeles. He's a psychology major. Most of his classes seem to be during the late afternoon. Nobody has any clue where Nico goes at night. 

As his workload increases and studying becomes much more of a time stealer, Will finds he has less time to dedicate to pondering his roommate. There's no time to think about Nico, when he has textbooks to study and essays to write and exams to pray for. He also has less time to go out and buy his roommate coffee. Instead, he leaves apology notes, when he finally passes out of exhaustion on his desk late at night. 

In the mornings, he always finds that he's been carefully lifted into bed somehow. He thinks back to Nico's weak looking form and begins to wonder if he's been underestimating him. After all, Will isn't exactly light. Kid must be stronger than he thought. It's one such morning that Will has his first ever conversation with his roommate. 

He wakes up, still feeling surprisingly tired for all the rest he got. He didn't even finish his essay last night, he's got to get to work on that... He's distracted by the sound of a pen scratching against paper. For a while, he lies there and just wonders dreamily where it could be coming from. 

"Are you awake?" 

"Mhm." There's footsteps creaking against the floorboards and then, the sound of bed groaning as another weight sinks into his bed. He's too tired to question why his roommate is suddenly playing friendly- a little too friendly- and pushes his head against him instead. 

"You scared me, Solace. Do you ever stop working?" Nico's voice has a sort of lilt to it, underneath the irritated tones and Will feels a cold hand against the skin of his back, making him shiver, "Oh, sorry." The hand withdraws. 

"You're so cold..." Will mumbles. 

"So I've been told." Nico sounds amused. Blearily, Will opens his eyes and looks up at where his roommate is sitting beside him and stealing half his blankets to pull over his legs. 

"Nico?" His roommate is holding a notepad and a pen, frowning at it and scrunching his nose up to keep his glasses on his nose. His hair looks dishevelled, like he's been pushing a hand through it. He might be the most adorable person that Will has ever seen. 

"Good morning." Nico glances at him and almost smiles. He seems to grow frustrated with his glasses and pushes them up, so they can rest on top of his head. 

"I didn't know you wore glasses." 

"They're only for reading." 

"Adorable." Will says, before he can help it and feels his face flush hot. Nico simply shrugs at him and continues scribbling in his notebook. When Will lifts his head to peek at what Nico's writing, he discovers two things: 1. His roommate has the worst handwriting he's ever seen and 2. He seems to be studying. 

"Your handwriting sucks." 

"I'm dyslexic." 

"Isn't that when you can't read?" 

"I can read." Nico huffs at him, closing the notebook so that he can smack him on the arm with it. Will can't help grinning and his roommate gives him another almost smile, before he gets up. And he shuts the door carefully behind him, muttering something about Will needing to stop overworking himself, stupid idiot. It makes Will grin wider. 

After that, Nico seems to hang around in their room a lot more than he used to. He's nearly always home before midnight now and sometimes, he'll join Will at his desk. They write with opposing hands- Nico uses his left and Will, his right- so they bump elbows frequently when they're working. It makes Will laugh and Nico look away. He seems ever so nervous when it comes to physical contact.

Sometimes, they'll talk as they write and it's these brief moments that Will enjoys more than anything. Nico will just be jotting something down, when he'll suddenly turn to him and say something along the lines of: 

"Don't you think becoming a doctor's going to be kind of difficult?" 

Or: 

"I really wish that I had more classes with you, so that I could help you study better." 

Or: 

"Will? Can you... Can you read this bit to me? I'm not getting it." And he'll be pointing at some big chunk of text in his book, looking embarrassed at having to ask. Will doesn't mind reading for him in the slightest, even when he has to read the same part more than once. It's worth it to see the look of confusion clear on Nico's face and to see his lip twitch upwards as he writes. And to hear a quiet:

"Thanks, Will." 

On the other hand, Will finds that he's studying his roommate a lot more than his textbook. The way his forehead crinkles when he writes, when he's concentrating. The way he licks his fingers to turn pages, huffing something about "dumb coursework". The way his fingers brush against Will's, when he takes his pencil from him to draw in the margin of Will's work. 

"You're going to overwork yourself, Will." Nico says. 

"Says you. You've been here just as long as me." 

"I stopped working an hour ago." 

"You did?" Blinking, Will watches the way Nico's slender fingers brush the pencil against the page and marvels at him. His roommate is seemingly great at drawing, more confident than he seems at anything else. Will's eyes are aching from the bad lighting so that he doesn't notice for a moment when Nico drops the pencil and his hand sneaks into Will's instead. He's just suddenly aware that cold fingers are locked with his.

That's both of their writing hands occupied and it's quiet as Will sits and stares at how well their hands intertwine. Nico's hand is much smaller and Will can feel the boy's bracelets brushing against his wrist. He opens his mouth to speak and closes it again. The moment is shattered by Nico breaking away to cough into his other hand nervously, squeezing Will's hand tightly as he does so. 

"Are you okay?" Will says, eventually. 

"Yeah." Nico turns back to him with his eyes watering, "Just... Hay fever, you know?"

"Sucks, man." Will replies, despite suspecting it has more to do with nerves than hay fever. 

"Do you want to go to bed?" Without giving him time to answer, Nico pulls him to his feet and leads him across the room to bed. His protests hushed, Will lets himself fall into bed and Nico hesitates briefly before deciding that he can't go there. Not right now. Instead, he tucks Will into bed and pats his hand before flicking the light off. 

Quickly, Will is learning that his roommate wants to take things as slowly as he possibly can. Things like cuddling, kissing or showing any form of physical affection aside from occasional hand holding have been no-gos so far and Will doesn't want to push him. So, he settles for just brushing arms with Nico. He quickly becomes accustomed to the feel of his roommate's hoodie against his skin. 

Of course, there are the hotter days when even Nico can't keep up his "I'm not fazed by heat" facade and starts peeling off his layers of jackets as soon as the door is shut and he's away from public view. He strips down to just his t-shirt and jeans, kicking his shoes and socks off, before collapsing next to Will. It's hard to resist the urge to kiss his red hot face. 

"You didn't have to strip just for me." Will dares to tease once, making Nico roll his eyes. 

"Shut up and put a shirt on." 

"It's too hot to be wearing shirts." 

"Are you just going to walk around in those awful denim shorts until it gets cold again?"

"You bet." Will tells him, enjoying the way his face flushes an even darker colour. He notes that Nico's eyes trail over his bare torso for a moment, before huffing and looking away. His roommate carefully pushes back the curls that are stuck to his face with sweat and flips open his textbook. 

"I don't know how you survive in those dark clothes all day." Will says, as Nico starts to fan himself with his spare hand, "You look like you're dying." It's unusual to see the smaller boy visibly sweating as he leans against Will, resting his head on his shoulder. 

"What do you suggest?" 

"Take the clothes off." Will realises a moment too late that he's said the wrong thing and Nico jerks away from him, "No, Nico, I didn't mean-" But it's too late and Nico looks like he could die of a nasty combination of humiliation and heat exhaustion. He moves to his desk and doesn't speak another word for the rest of the evening. 

It's a week before he'll join Will back at the desk, seeming to forgive him. And that's also the first night that Nico actually dares to crawl into bed with him, pressing his face into Will's shoulder in a way that's actually less than comfortable but Will doesn't dare push him away. Before he can shift into a comfortable position, Nico seems to have fallen asleep against him in a way that cramps Will's shoulder and neck uncomfortably. He doesn't complain.

He doesn't even complain when he's woken up several times in the night by Nico's squirming and muttering. It never occurred to him to question why Nico always ended up tangled in his sheets before but now, he thinks he might understand. Will ends up sleeping badly with his roommate in bed with him but when the morning comes, it might be worth it. 

"Hey Will." 

"Mhm?" 

"You really think the dark clothes are a problem?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"Don't you like them?" By this point, Nico has shifted all the way to the other side of the bed and has his arms slipped around his roommate in a way that makes Will grin. Nico's still cold but in the hot summer, it's kind of a good thing. 

"I like the clothes." Rubbing his eyes, Will sits up and stretches his arm above his head. Nico's arms slide down to hold him around the waist, running his fingers over his stomach gently. 

"I like you." Nico mutters, looking away from him. 

"I like you too, Nico." Will goes to swing his legs out of bed but is abruptly stopped by a whining Nico. 

"It's Saturday. You don't have to get up yet." He complains. 

"I've got studying to do." 

"All we ever do is study. Can't you just be with me for once without an excuse?" There's sudden irritation in Nico's voice that takes Will by surprise. He stays where is for a second, considering, before he lays back down beside him. His roommate's cold arms grip him tightly, determined to keep him there. 

"I thought you weren't comfortable with this kind of thing." 

"I'm not. You're just a special exception, Will."

Those words make Will's heart burn with a strange kind of warmth. 

Yeah, he thinks he likes the sound of that. 

"Will?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Have you ever tried kissing?"

He likes the sound of that even more.


End file.
